


Two Birds on a Wire

by renochanminyang



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: AU, Angst, Childhood Friends, M/M, One Shot, Red String of Fate, and also a tiktok lol don't come for me, based off of a song, because i can't be bothered to add in an age difference in school, meanie, other characters are pretty much just mentions, please listen to the song too, wonwoo and mingyu are the same age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 17:16:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21359821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renochanminyang/pseuds/renochanminyang
Summary: Jeon Wonwoo is Mingyu's red string, neighbor, and childhood best friend.(Based on "Two Birds" by Regina Spektor and inspired by @_rainbow_witch and @macian.a on TikTok)
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 7
Kudos: 42





	Two Birds on a Wire

_ Two birds on a wire _

_ One tries to fly away _

_ And the other _

_ Watches him close _

_ From that wire _

_ He says that he wants to as well _

_ But he is a liar _

_ I’ll believe it all _

_ There’s nothing I won’t understand _

_ I’ll believe it all _

_ I won’t let go of your hand _

Mingyu ran over to the boy sitting on the benches, reading a book that was probably much more advanced than most of the other 8-year-olds would even think about reading. Mingyu slid right in next to him anyways- Wonwoo never really got angry at him for interrupting his reading. 

“Wonwoo, you said last night that I could introduce you to some new people today! You can’t just read all recess, please?” Mingyu tried to evoke his best attempt at puppy-dog eyes, since it always seemed to work on his mother. Wonwoo just sighed and closed the thick book, keeping a finger on the page he was reading. 

“I would, but I just started this book, and it’s really good, so I don’t wanna stop.” Mingyu nodded understandingly. Wonwoo and his books were an inseparable pair, like popcorn at the movies or Mingyu and his desserts.   
“Okay...” Mingyu pouted for a moment, then added, “but only if you’ll play with me when we get home!” Wonwoo nodded and smiled at Mingyu, some emotion in his eyes that Mingyu didn’t quite understand, but he didn’t care to understand either. 

“Of course! I always come over after school, you know that.” And Mingyu did. Wonwoo came over every day without fail, ever since they could walk. So, Mingyu took his answer happily and skipped off, sparing a glance at the red string tied onto his pinkie. He wondered, sometimes, what the string meant and why it was tied to Wonwoo’s pinkie. Maybe one day Minygu would ask his parents about that. 

_ Two birds on a wire _

_ One says come on _

_ And the other says _

_ I’m tired _

_ The sky is overcast _

_ And I’m sorry _

_ One more or one less _

_ Nobody’s worried _

_ I’ll believe it all _

_ There’s nothing I won’t understand _

_ I’ll believe it all _

_ I won’t let go of your hand _

Mingyu closed his locker, unlocking his phone to text Wonwoo. 

_ Are you coming over after school today to hang _ _ out? _ _ It’s been a while... _

Mingyu knew that it wouldn’t be that difficult for Wonwoo to come over if he wanted, he lived across the street for crying out loud, but there always seemed to be an excuse. Mingyu scrolled up into their recent messages, repeatedly seeing himself ask Wonwoo to come over, and repeatedly seeing Wonwoo’s different ways of turning him down. 

_ I just finished midterms, Gyu, I think I’m _ _ gonna _ _ go home and sleep for a week. Maybe another time? _

_ I’ve got so much homework to do, I’m so sorry, I need to get it done before I do anything else. _

_ It looks like it might _ _ rain _ _ and I just permed my hair, I can’t risk it, I’m sorry. _

Mingyu’s phone dinged with Wonwoo’s response at lunch, adding to the list with a simple, _ I’m sorry, Mingyu, I can’t. _ Mingyu sighed and slipped his phone in his pocket, following the red string to find Wonwoo sitting with his friends, all dressed in black but all laughing. 

“Wonwoo turned you down again?” Mingyu blinked and looked up at the four people sitting at the table with him. Joshua’s gentle tone contrasted the annoyed look on his face. “Why do you still put up with him, Mingyu?” 

“Is it that obvious?” Mingyu smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Seungkwan rolled his eyes as dramatically as he could. 

“You only ever make that face when you talk to Wonwoo. I don’t know why or how you tolerate it; you should tell him off!” Seungkwan was always one to go a bit too far with his remarks, but to Mingyu’s surprise, the other guys nodded as well. Mingyu frowned further, prompting one of the other guys to respond. 

“You’re always making time for him, Mingyu, and he never makes any time for you.” Junhui pointed out. “I think the only person I’d give this many chances to would be my red string, but I’d still be a whole lot angrier if my red string treated me like Wonwoo treats you.” Mingyu would probably never tell his friends that Wonwoo was his red string. They’d actually come after Wonwoo then, and Mingyu didn’t want that. 

“Why do you tolerate it, Mingyu?” Seokmin asked curiously. It was a fair question, Mingyu had to think for a moment before answering. 

“I guess I just remember how close we were in primary school, so I’m still holding out hope that he’ll agree to hang out with me one of these days...” Surely by now, Wonwoo knew what the red string meant and that it was tied to Mingyu, right? 

_ Two birds of a feather _

_ Says that they’re always _

_ Gonna _ _ stay together _

_ But one’s never going to _

_ Let go of that wire _

_ He says that he will _

_ But he’s just a liar _

_ Two birds on a wire _

_ One tries to fly away _

_ And the other _

_ Watches him close _

_ From that wire _

_ He says that he wants to as well _

_ But he is a liar _

Mingyu and Wonwoo’s families had celebrated Christmas together every year since they were little. It never consisted of much- maybe a couple of presents exchanged, always fried chicken for dinner. Usually Wonwoo spent the night as well- it had come to be the one time Mingyu could depend on Wonwoo coming over. However, they didn’t usually sit in Mingyu’s room and stare at each other for five minutes, unsure of what to say. Were they really this distant now?   
“So... you’ve been applying to universities, right?” Mingyu finally asked, breaking the silence. Wonwoo nodded.   
“Of course I have, my parents have been riding my back about it. They want me to choose a couple more schools.”   
“I think I’m just gonna go to the one closest, that way I can still be at home. What about you?” Mingyu watched as Wonwoo swallowed, eyes darting around the room to look everywhere but Mingyu’s face. 

“Yeah. Me too.” That was a lie. Mingyu knew it, Wonwoo knew it, and by the way Wonwoo was still avoiding looking at him, Wonwoo knew that Mingyu knew that.   
“How far away is the farthest school?”   
“Seoul.” Liar, why was Wonwoo lying to Mingyu like this? Did he think Mingyu was going to stop him from going anywhere? Mingyu knew that Wonwoo wanted to get as far away from this town as possible, he’d said it since they were little. Mingyu would rather have Wonwoo tell him the truth, something that apparently was becoming harder and harder for Wonwoo to do. It reminded Mingyu of every time his friends had begged him to make Wonwoo be honest, the thousands of times since their lower secondary school years. How often had Wonwoo lied to Mingyu, made excuses to not see Mingyu, and why? That was what Mingyu didn’t understand. What had Mingyu done wrong? 

Mingyu made Wonwoo look him in the eye, gently guiding his face until Wonwoo finally looked at him. 

“How far, Wonwoo?” He had nowhere to go this time. Wonwoo sighed. 

“Japan... China... I’m considering even farther. Maybe America, but I’d have to learn all of those languages to go to those places.” That wouldn’t stop Wonwoo, Mingyu knew that. He looked away from Wonwoo, his eye catching the string tied to his finger. It was still red, and as bright as ever. There was still hope. 

Mingyu would wait forever for Wonwoo if he had to. 

“I hope you get into one of those places. You’ll love it.” Mingyu told Wonwoo. 

“I know.” Wonwoo nodded quietly. 

_ Two birds on a wire _

_ One tries to fly away _

_ And the other... _

Mingyu leaned on his mailbox, watching Wonwoo pack the last of his things in his mother’s car, hugging his parents goodbye, calling one of his friends. Wonwoo had told Minygu that he’d made it to one of the Chinese colleges he’d applied to, and that he was going with his Chinese friend so that he wasn’t completely lost in a new place. Mingyu had told him he was glad, and he was. He was glad Wonwoo was happy. The smile on Wonwoo’s face as he talked on the phone to the other person (Minghao, that was his name- Wonwoo had said it when he started talking) was absolutely unspeakable. Mingyu hoped Wonwoo would always smile like that. 

Wonwoo was about to slide into the passenger seat of the car when he looked across the street, dead at Mingyu. The wide smile on his face fell, like Mingyu was suddenly a bad memory for him. Mingyu waved at Wonwoo, shocked at the other’s expression. Mingyu’s eyes misted over as Wonwoo slipped into the car, not sparing Mingyu with any other reaction to soften the blow. 

Mingyu watched the car speed away, the string attached to Mingyu’s pinkie stretching farther and farther. It was only then that Mingyu realizes, tears running down his face as fast as Wonwoo sped to the airport, that the string wasn’t red anymore. 

The string- that string that had always given Mingyu so much hope throughout the years- was now black. 


End file.
